Victory
by Liviyan
Summary: Sasuke never loses to Naruto. Never. Hinata wants to prove herself to her father, but she's at a loss. Can they both win? Sasuhina fluff! R&R


**Okay, so...I have no prompts for Sasuhina Prompts and otherwise have writers block, so I wrote this one out as an exercise to warm me up. I think this was rather good, and I know Sasuke may seem OOC, but he did actually act like that sometimes! I watched episodes from when they were all genin, and he wasn't a total dick! (I love him, I really do, dick or not). I prefer to write emotional stuff when he is younger in Team Seven, because he showed emotion then, other than hate for his brother, the village, etc.**

**Anywhoo, I've been babbling long enough. I hope you enjoy my awesome stroy! (BTW, I hope the title's not lame. I came up with it AFTER I wrote the story, so...eh...)**

**Disclaimer: I don not own Naruto. The world of Naruto belongs to Misashi Kishimoto-sama.**

* * *

><p><span>Victory<span>

The clang of metal-on-metal rang in the air, and two young ninja sprang back, landing feet apart from each other. They were panting heavily, giving each other smug grins. One clad in orange, with blond hair, bright blue eyes and an aura of excitement around him; the other swathed in blue and white, with raven black hair, matching onyx eyes and a cool demeanor about him.

"Give it up, dobe," the black-haired boy taunted in an even voice. "You're just too slow." The blond boy gritted his teeth, but kept the grin and chuckled. "No way, Sasuke!" he answered, "Every little bit helps me get closer to my dream. I won't give up, or my name isn't Naruto Uzumaki!" he yelled, pumping a fist.

"Tch," Sasuke scoffed before running at him, full force with a kunai equipped in each hand. Naruto widened his eyes, then reached into his pack for another kunai and brought both arms up in time to counter Sasuke's assault. Each boy looked in the other's eyes, willing the other to drop their guard. (**A/N: No! NOT a yaoi moment! Pervs…**)

Off to the side stood their teacher, Kakashi, and their teammate Sakura. He simply gazed at his students uninterestedly—he was so used to these little fights. Sakura, though, was gazing at them a little wearily; _Can't they just knock this off? They're both good,_ she thought. She rolled her eyes to the sky beyond the gate to their village and sighed. "This is getting old," she moaned.

"Then stop them, duh!" Sakura turned to see her friend and longtime rival, Ino, strolling up beside her. Shadowing her as usual were Choji and Shikamaru, albeit the latter slowly. The pink-haired girl sighed, "It's not that easy, Ino. Naruto and Sasuke-kun, they get so intense it's as if no one else in the world is here." Ino looked out at the two boys clashing, "Huh. Wow, they're really going at it, huh?" Sakura nodded.

"C'mon, Sakura, let's go to the shop. I found this cute shirt, I think you'll love it!" Ino smiled, trying to make her friend feel a bit better. Sakura thought a minute, then sighed, "No, I'm here to train…"

"Go ahead, Sakura," Kakashi said, glancing down at the girl. "It seems that they're too busy for my lesson for today, and you already had the hang of it. We can pick this up tomorrow," he ruffled her hair. She smiled gratefully, "Oh, thank you, sensei!" Turning, she grabbed Ino's hand and ran off, Choji and Shikamaru following more slowly. "This is so dumb…shopping is so troublesome…" the genius grumbled. "We can go to my house. Or to this great barbeque shop," Choji offered, to which his friend shrugged, "Why not?"

Watching the four leave, Kakashi turned his gaze back to Naruto and Sasuke, who were starting to look worn out but not ready to admit defeat. _Eh, let them sweat this out. I'll get the lesson tomorrow._ He disappeared, leaving the boys alone at the gate of Konaha with only the guards to watch them.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Hinata was following her two teammates Kiba and Shino around the village. They were trying to find a way to occupy their time, since Kurenai had seemingly disappeared on a classified A-rank mission she was needed for.<p>

"So, what are we doing today?" Kiba asked, glancing back at his teammates. Hinata looked down at the ground in thought as she walked, and Shino remained silent as usual. "We could always train some more," Shino said in his low voice. "Nah, I'm good. We've been training all morning, and I don't think Akamaru or I could take your damn bugs anymore," the tattooed boy reached up to pet the small dog on his head. Hinata giggled at Akamaru's bark of agreement.

"Hey, by the way, Hinata, you did great today," Kiba smiled, looking back at his friend. "Good work, did you come up with that strategy yourself?" Hinata smiled happily, turning a light shade of pink. "Yes, actually," she affirmed. Shino nodded, "Excellent."

Hinata felt her heart swell as she caught up to the boys. She loved them dearly, Kiba and Shino. Although she didn't quite know them during her time at the Academy due to her shyness, she quickly warmed up to them both when they trained together. She appreciated Kiba's natural leadership and Shino's tactical mind, and both their friendship. They were older brothers to her, much like Neji is now, and likewise they viewed the Hyuuga as a younger sister. They had a strong bond, and she never took it for granted.

"Rrr…woof!" Akamaru barked, sniffing from his perch on his owner. "Hmm? What is it, boy?" Kiba raised his eyes, then looked in front of him, narrowing his eyes. "Hey, you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Hinata asked. Shino nodded from her right, "Yes, I hear it." Feeling them both tense, she strained her ears, and she also heard it: shouting and the tell-tale sounds of fighting. "Oh! I hear it, too. I wonder what it is?"

"Let's go!" Kiba ran towards the noise, to which the others followed closely. They ran closer towards the gate, and Hinata was worried, wondering if it was an enemy ninja attempting to break into the village. _Maybe we should get help,_ she thought. She was about to voice this suggestion when Kiba had stopped.

"Aw, seriously? This is all that's going on?" Hinata peered around her friends to see Sasuke and Naruto throwing shuriken at one another, then throwing punches. "Oh! It's Sasuke and N-Naruto-kun," she said, blushing a little at the mention of her crush. "It seems we have stumbled upon a training session," Shino mused.

Hinata watched in admiration as Naruto skillfully dodged a kick and threw an arm up to punch Sasuke in the stomach. Sasuke flew back, landing on his hands and flipping onto his feet. "Wow, they're so strong," she breathed. Kiba scoffed beside her, "Yeah, right. Sasuke's totally gonna kick his ass." Hinata looked at him, "No! That's not true, Kiba! Naruto is very good. He never gives up, he is just as good as Sasuke!" she admonished, shocked.

Kiba barked a laugh, "Well, maybe. But Sasuke _is_ the best in our year, and Naruto _did_ pass as the worst," he reminded her. Hinata ignored him and fixed her pale eyes on Naruto.

Sasuke performed his hand seals, readying himself for his signature Phoenix Flower Justsu. As he blew out the fire, he saw a shadow mingle with his own. Looking up, he quickly jumped to the side to dodge a Shadow Clone, which disappeared as it hit the ground. He was surrounded by several more clones, and when they attacked he sprung. He kicked, dodged and punched, making them disappear one-by-one before sending the real one flying back.

Naruto landed with a _thud_, and he didn't move as he panted in exhaustion, looking straight ahead of him. Suddenly, Sasuke stood over him, blocking the sunlight. "Guess you lost again," he smirked, before extending a hand. Naruto grinned weakly, taking the hand and let himself be pulled to his feet. "Ha, yeah right. You're just as tired as I am," he pointed out to his rival.

"Hn," was his response. "Yeah, I'm pretty worn out. I think I'm going to head out, now." He glanced up sharply when Naruto exclaimed, "Eh? Where's Kakashi-sensei and Sakura?"

"They probably got bored and left. That's not my concern anyway, so I'm going home." As he headed in the direction of his apartment, leaving a bemuddled Naruto behind, he noticed three people standing at the edge of the city where they had obviously watched his spar. Walking closer, he saw it was Kiba Inuzuka, Hinata Hyuuga and Shino Aburame.

"Ha! Told you he'd kick Naruto's ass," he heard the brown-haired boy say to Hinata. She was gazing at Naruto, and she smiled slightly. "Sasuke didn't beat him badly. Naruto…I hope he's okay, though," she said, but just quiet enough that Sasuke almost didn't hear.

For some reason, the feeling of satisfaction at once again beating the dobe dissipated instantly, to be replaced with irritation. He didn't understand why, exactly; he figured he was so used to the swoons and compliments from all the girls in their class whenever he did something, especially beating up Naruto, that he was surprised to hear someone—a _girl_ no less—more concerned about Naruto than himself.

"Whatever," he said to himself. What was it to him if she was worried about the idiot? Nothing. He barely knew her, so whatever she thought had nothing to do with him. He walked home, feeling better and looking forward to a nice nap.

* * *

><p><span>-The Next Day—<span>

Sasuke strolled through Konaha, his hands deep in his pockets. Team Seven had finished their lesson for the day, after getting a long lecture from Kakashi. After their assignments were handed to them, Sasuke had completed his in a matter of minutes, followed quickly by Sakura. It had taken awhile for Naruto to catch on, but after much taunting from Sasuke and gradual encouragement from Sakura, he had completed his as well.

Now the Uchiha was walking aimlessly around the village, trying to find something to amuse himself with. He didn't want to go home, but he didn't quite feel like dealing with other people—after a day of Naruto, he could only take so much. And his fangirls were out of the question.

Shop after shop passed him, and nothing caught his eye. As he looked at the various stands, he sighed irritably. _Nothing…this is so boring…_

* * *

><p>Hinata carried a bag filled with groceries. She looked down at her list, to see she had picked up every item she needed. "Ah, good. Now I can go home and make tea for Father and Neji-nii," she said to herself. She was very happy that her cousin was beginning to like her again. She had always loved Neji dearly, and it almost broke her heart to have him hate her. She also felt it was good for her self-esteem that he liked her, as whenever she was compared to him by her father he would often inject some sort of triumph she accomplished that day.<p>

Lost in her thoughts on Neji, and her father, she didn't notice where she walking, and she abruptly bumped hard into someone, dropping her bag and some strawberries rolled out. "Oh! I…I'm so sorry!" she bowed apologetically, flushing pink. _How clumsy! How could I…?_ Hearing no response after a minute, she looked up slowly to see Sasuke Uchiha standing in front of her, looking rather passive.

* * *

><p>Sasuke looked at the Hyuuga girl. He was not glaring at her, but he didn't look very surprised either. He felt a small bit of mild shock in the back of his mind at seeing her here, alone. Mostly she was often accompanied by her teammates, or recently, her cousin.<p>

The blue-clad ninja blinked, raising an eyebrow at the blushing girl. She squeaked a bit, then kneeled down and quickly attempted to gather the fallen strawberries quickly. _What's with her?_ Kneeling down, he helped her and gave her the bag. She took it slowly, not saying a word. "Do you have everything?" he asked a minute later, feeling a bit unsettled. What was with this girl? She was acting like he was going to bite her or something.

"T-thank you," she finally stuttered out, bowing slightly again, then continuing on her way like a frightened mouse. He turned to watch her as she left, narrowing his eyes as he wondered what on Earth he had done to make her so afraid of him. _Huh…well, she's afraid of everything,_ he mused, figuring that explained why she acted the way she did. Walking by a fruit stand, he saw a basket of tomatoes. He paid for one, and ate it as he walked in the direction of his home. _Nothing else to do here…_ as he rounded a corner, he caught a glimpse of Hinata, surrounded by Naruto, Tenten, and Choji. Hinata, while just as red as she was a few minutes ago from their short encounter, was smiling happily. She looked shyly at Naruto, and laughed at one of Tenten's jokes.

Sasuke frowned. Seriously, _that_ was annoying. Hinata was looking happy. Embarrassed, maybe, but definitely happy. His eyebrows furrowed as he watched Naruto turn to the girl, smiling widely. From what he could hear, he was complimenting her or something, or maybe just asking about her bag of groceries. Either way, the minute Naruto had looked at her, she turned redder, and looked down, just as she had done when she apologized to Sasuke.

He smirked as he thought she was frightened of the boy too. Why else would she act the same way? However, she looked up then, and to his astonishment she was smiling happily. Tenten and Hinata then walked away, while Naruto waved goodbye and alked away with Choji in the opposite direction. Sasuke was frozen to the spot, confused and severely irritated.

What was _up_ with her? She was the one girl in the village who wasn't obsessed with him, and yet, go figure, she was scared to death of him. She wasn't even scared of Shino, and he was definitely scarier than Sasuke (at least he thought so).

He forced himself to turn around, giving silent glares to the villagers that looked curiously at him. As he walked home, he reflected on what he witnessed; something about it was bugging him to no end. It wasn't so much of the fact she was scared of him, no. It didn't really matter to him what she thought, since he didn't have to deal with her normally. He thought harder, trying to find what exactly was nagging at his mind, just why he was upset.

As he reached his door, it was as if a light bulb had turned on in his brain. She was happy talking to the others, albeit nervously to Naruto. And that's what bugged him.

Naruto.

He had always one-upped the blond in everything, from ninja skills to books to girls. Definitely girls, in his case. And yet, there was this one girl who would rather be in Naruto's company than his own. Was he losing his cool? There was just no way someone would prefer the idiot over him. But it wasn't the fact Hinata didn't like him, not at all-he despised all the attention the girls of his age gave him. It was that Naruto had finally, somehow…_beaten_ him at something.

_Yeah, that's it…what's this?_ Glancing down at the doorknob his hand clenched, he saw red liquid. He inspected his hand, wondering when he had cut himself, when he saw it wasn't blood, but tomato juice. Now he knew why the villagers were staring at him, as he rubbed his hands together to rid them of the seeds. _Great, now my hands are all sticky…_

He walked into his bathroom to wash his hands, and as he glanced in the mirror he found himself thinking of how Hinata had acted towards him. He then vowed he would get this girl to smile at him, at least. He would _not_ lose to Naruto Uzumaki.

* * *

><p><span>-Several Days Later—<span>

Hinata activated her Byakugan, glancing from left to right. _Where are they?_ Suddenly, she saw movement behind her, and she spun quickly, raising her kunai and blocking the various shuriken coming at her. When she saw nothing, she looked harder, focusing her chakra.

More shuriken came at her from her right, and at the same time insects came from her left, fast. Hinata focused chakra to all the parts of her outer body, especially her arms and hands, and began to spin quickly; she was trying the Eight Trigrams Palm Rotation that Neji had showed her. However, she stumbled and ended up falling over, letting out a surprised grunt. The shuriken bypassed her, and the insects made a U-turn above her.

Shino and Kiba appeared at her side. "Are you alright, Hinata?" Shino asked, helping her up. "Yeah, you were doing really good until you fell," Kiba added, trying not to laugh. Instead he gave her an apologetic smile. "Did you get dizzy?"

Hinata looked at him. "No, I just…tripped," she mumbled, embarrassed. She was glad she was training with her team, instead of her father. What would he say?

"Don't worry about it," Shino assured her, hand on her shoulder. She smiled at him, "Thank you very much for helping me." Kiba scratched the side of his head, "No problem. You wanna keep going?" He put his hood back up, where Akamaru promptly jumped on his head.

Hinata thought for a minute, then shook her head. "Ah, no. I think that was enough for today," she said. "Well alright, if you're sure," Kiba shrugged. "C'mon, Akamaru! I bet Hana made her special food for lunch!" As he ran off Hinata could hear Akamaru's excited bark.

"I suppose I too should go home," Shino said. "Would you like to come over?" Hinata smiled, but shook her head. "No thank you, Shino. I need to be home soon, Father expects me to help with lunch."

Shino nodded, knowing how Hinata's odd family dynamics worked. "Alright, then. Have a good day, Hinata." As he turned to leave, Hinata responded, "See you later, Shino."

Alone now, Hinata looked at the various shuriken littering the ground. She sighed, disappointed she didn't get the Eight Trigrams Palm Rotation down. "I can't even get that move…I need to keep getting stronger, practice more. Naruto wouldn't give up," she told herself, then took a deep breath.

* * *

><p>Sasuke stood leaning against a tree, watching her stand in thought. He had just arrived moments ago, to catch her falling. He had hidden then, so the Inuzuka kid didn't smell him. Now he was in full view of the clearing, but her back was to him. He smirked, <em>I'll get her to like me. I won't lose!<em>

He walked up to the girl and stuck his hands in his pockets. "Hinata." The girl jumped like a rabbit and squealed in surprise. She spun around, her eyes wide as she saw who had scared her. "Oh! S-Sasuke…you frightened me…" she mumbled, turning pink. Sasuke blinked, then let out a soft smirk that he thought would look friendly. "Sorry about that. I was watching you train, you know."

Her eyes widened in shock, looking at the Uchiha. "You…you did?" _Oh, oh no! He must have thought me ridiculous, the way I fell like that! He's the top in our class, if he were a Hyuuga…he'd be able to do that move no problem…_she felt downhearted at this prospect.

Sasuke frowned slightly at the way she looked disappointed. He was trying to compliment her, why was she looking upset already? Inwardly he sighed and looked at her. "Well, I thought you did okay." At this, Hinata raised her head to meet his dark eyes with her pale ones. "Wh-what?" He was…complimenting her? This was confusing…

"Yeah. I saw you dodge the weapons. How did you see them coming from behind you?" he asked. Hinata glanced away, poking her index fingers together. "Ah…um, well…the…the Byakugan…it allows us to…" she trailed off, embarrassed. It wasn't bad that Saske Uchiha was curious about how she fought, right? She just never expected _him_, the heartthrob of their class, to talk to _her_—she didn't even know he knew she existed.

"It allows you to see the chakra flow in others, right? Kakashi told me how you use your eyes to fight—the Gentle Fist?" he prodded, willing himself to be patient. It was surprisingly easier than he thought; probably, he figured, because she was like him: quiet, reserved. Hinata nodded. She sat down, and Sasuke followed suit.

"The Byakugan allows us to see the chakra of others, and we use them to find points on the body to block the opponent's chakra flow," she started, inwardly calming herself so she didn't stutter. Sasuke appreciated that she stopped stuttering, as it made talking to her so much easier.

She took a deep breath, then continued, "And also, the Byakugan allows for nearly 360 degree vision." Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Almost 360? So there's a blind spot?" Hinata was speechless for a minute. _Oh no! What…why did I tell him that?_ Sasuke took note of her facial expression, and smiled slightly. "Don't worry about it. I won't tell, and it's not like I know where that blind spot is. Just make sure you don't get into a fight with me," he joked, and was almost horrified to see her paling.

_Agh…no, not what I meant!_ He thought, mentally berating himself. "Nevermind. Anyway, I saw that last move. You were trying some spinning technique?" Hinata's color came back to her face a little, and she fiddled with her jacket. "Ah…yes, I, um…it's a move that Neji and my father use. I wanted to try it, as Neji-nii showed me…"

She trailed off, and silence ensued. Sasuke didn't have the slightest idea what to say to her. He wasn't used to being the one trying to engage conversation, and he vaguely wondered if this is how others felt when they attempted to speak to him. "Look, I don't normally do this. Mostly I think this could be a waste of time. But, I'll try to give you advice, okay?" he said finally, deciding to be honest. And in the only way he knew how: bluntly. She looked up at him curiously.

He took a nearby stick and started to draw in the patch of dirt between them. "Okay, well," he began to explain as he drew, "First, anticipate the attack using other senses, not just your eyes. You'll be stronger, and more well-rounded. Second, timing. Timing is key to execute a good offense or defense. Maybe both. Third is stance and positioning." He glanced up at her to see her focusing intently on his drawing. "If you do it right, you won't fall. That's why you tripped earlier, your stance was off."

She nodded, to show she understood. "So, I have to stand a little differently?" Sasuke closed his eyes, smiling in a way that made him look slightly arrogant (though of course she knew he wasn't being so). "Exactly. I'm not a Hyuuga, so I don't use your fighting styles unless I use my Sharingan. Since I don't know what stances you take, I can't show you. But practice." She nodded, looking relieved. She didn't often receive this much help, not even from Shino, much as he tried. And the fact Sasuke Uchiha was telling her this, was even more amazing. She was extremely grateful for his help.

"Okay…I can do that later, when I'm training with Neji-nii," she said aloud, more to herself than Sasuke. "Thank you, Sasuke," she said quietly, shyly. The boy nodded, then added, "You know, it's possible to make up your own jutsus." She glanced back at him, interested. "You can?"

"Yes. In the preliminaries of the Chunin Exam, my fight was first, remember?" she nodded, and he continued. "Well, that move I used to take my opponent out, I made up myself. Earlier, before we took the first part of the exam, that Rock Lee kid fought against me, and I used my Sharingan against him." He looked up at the clouds, remembering that day. "I remembered part of his attacks, where he threw me in the air, the Leaf's Shadow or whatever. After that, however, I did my own attack, the Lion's Barrage." He looked back at the petite girl, smiling. "So it's possible to make your own attacks. Be creative about it, and make it your own."

Hinata listened in awe. This was news to her. Of course, she knew jutsu abilities weren't set in stone, especially not those with a Kekkei Genkai, but to make their own was still a new revelation. "I see…okay! I will make my own jutsu, and master it," she exclaimed proudly, standing. Sasuke looked up, then joined her. "Good. Did that help?" He hoped it did. It was killing him, trying to be friendly. He just wasn't used to it, it wasn't his thing.

Hinata nodded, and to his surprise she beamed at him. "Yes! Thank you, very much, Sasuke-kun! It was very helpful!" He saw her smile, and was speechless for a moment. Hinata was smiling…at him…

_Wait! I got her to smile._ He smirked, "Glad to help." He turned to leave, and Hinata was beside him. "I need to go home, too," she explained, still looking elated. It wasn't bad, but it was still odd to Sasuke. Hinata couldn't believe her luck—the top student gave her the best help he ever could. Now she definitely could make her father proud of her.

"So, Hinata," Sasuke said, looking straight ahead, hands in his pockets.

"Hmm?"

"You're not…scared of me anymore?" he asked, feeling his face grow slightly hot. He hoped she didn't notice.

She hadn't, as she was busy trying not to let him see her own face from turning red. "Ah…why…why would you think I was scared of you?" Sasuke, once satisfied his face wasn't anything but it's normal pallor, glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "Because you always stuttered whenever I talked to you, like when you ran into me the other day. Yet you could talk to others, besides Naruto. But you were happy when he was around—you looked more like you wanted to get away whenever I was around." He shifted his gaze back in front of him, then realized they were at her manor. He stopped and turned to her.

"Ah…I wasn't scared of you, Sasuke-kun," she explained hesitantly a minute later. He raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "Really. I was just nervous, because you're so brilliant. And I didn't think you wanted to bother with someone like me, is all," she added, glancing at him from under her bangs. Sasuke blinked, unsure what to say. "Oh. Well, if it makes any difference, I think you're pretty good," he said, still unsure of what he was trying to say.

Hinata blinked. _He thinks…I'm good? Does that mean he's noticed me as well?_ She smiled softly, "Thank you again, Sasuke." She lifted a hand in a small wave. "I hope you have a good day!"

The boy smirked. "Someday, you need to show me your new jutsu. See if you could take me down," he said offhandedly. She smiled and nodded, before going in the gate. Sasuke smiled, a genuine smile, and walked away. For some reason, and he would _never_ admit this to anyone, he felt great. He wanted to see her again, vaguely, and he hoped she would use her own jutsu on him. He glanced behind him, at the spot where she had been standing and saw nothing, then made his way to his home. Suddenly, he felt elated.

And he had this strange feeling that it had nothing to do with Naruto this time.

* * *

><p>Hinata stood with her back against the wall of the gate, her hands to her chest. She was smiling to herself, thoughts of Sasuke's words racing through her mind. He had complimented her, and even told her something useful, to her advantage. Hinata felt a bit happy that he had taken the time to talk to her, and she felt a bit guilty for assuming he didn't want to in the first place. She sighed contently, and started towards the kitchen.<p>

"Good afternoon, Hinata," Hiashi Hyuuga greeted his deep voice, which demanded respect in itself. Hinata bowed to her father with a cheery, "Good afternoon." Neji, who was beside Hiashi and covered in dirt, raised an eyebrow. Normally, the girl was nervous around both of them. "Hello, Hinata-sama. Having a good day?"

Hinata straightened, and both Hyuuga males could see the bright smile on her face. "Yes, Neji-nii, I am." Hiashi exchanged a bewildered glance with his nephew, then back at his daughter. "Well, that is good to hear. Prepare the tea as you usually do, please," he requested.

Hinata nodded, "Yes, of course!" and practically skipped (but not really—it was improper to do so) to the kitchen. Hiashi and Neji watched her go, and in the silence Neji spoke, "It's good to see Hinata-sama in such high spirits."

Hiashi studied the girl thoughfully. "Hmm…yes, it really is, isn't it?" And to Neji's surprise, Hiashi let out a laugh. "Well, Neji, let's try that technique again!" Neji, at a complete loss as to what was going on, blinked. "Al…alright," he agreed, then mentally shook his head as he took his stance.

In the kitchen, Hinata set the kettle on the stove to boil the water, and as she was busy fixing the cups her thoughts drifted to Naruto, as usual. She hummed lightly to herself as she imagined Naruto's blue eyes and fox-like grin. As she went to fix the lunch for her father, Neji and herself, she suddenly found herself not thinking of blond, but black. The foxy grin turned into a kind smirk, and orange transformed into blue. She was dwelling not on Naruto, but on Sasuke Uchiha.

Hinata blinked in surprise. "Eh…why would…?" she questioned herself, and tried to banish him from her mind. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop. She smiled, and sighed as she resigned herself to thinking fondly of the encounter she had this afternoon. At lunch she didn't speak, just ate happily as Hiashi and poor Neji ate their own food in confusion. She trained by herself, using different maneuvers to invent her own jutsu, until it got to be around sunset and she finally knew just what she wanted her move to be.

Tired, but satisfied with herself, she crawled into bed and fell into a deep sleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. _I can't wait to show Naruto my strength_ she thought drowsily before losing consciousness, but her dreams were invaded by friendly spars with a certain raven-haired boy. Subconsciously, she also couldn't wait to show Sasuke the results of his kind advice that day.

Unfortunately, he never saw those results—the Protective Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms.

* * *

><p><strong>And, there's the end! I thought it was a cute little fic. And, I added a bit of a sad tone to the end, because we all know that it would never be perfect, whether canon or not. (And even then, what relationship is?)<strong>

**Anywhoo, for those of you who are confused, the Protective Eight Trigrams move at the end is a move Hinata invented herself. It's an attack she uses in Episode 151, in the Bikochu Beetle Arc. (If you still don't know, go look it up. It's a great episode.)**

**Also, Sasuke's thought: _'I'll get her to like me!'..._I intended for him to not mean that in a romantic way whatsoever. This was all fluff in my head, but if you as the reader want him to mean it that way, then by all means go ahead. You use your imagination the way you want. =]**

**One more note: Someone, please, help me. _GIVE ME PROMPTS!_ I'm not SUPER creative, I can't think of a whole bunch on my own. I want to know what you want as prompts, and whatever. I even made a forum for people to comment on, so please, PLEASE, help me out here. Much apprecitated! Reviews are as well. *Holds out a plate of various cookies***

**~Liviyan**


End file.
